Described by one reporter as “a biblical famine in the 20th century,” the 1983-1985 Ethiopian famine was a humanitarian crisis…
Persuading an Arms Dealer to Come Clean in a New South Africa
Yacht trips, golf junkets, and private receptions with Oprah. These are rare events even in elevated diplomatic careers. Yet William…
Diamonds, Coal, and the Dutch Queen—NBC’s First Female Broadcaster Escapes The Netherlands in 1940
Reporting live from a shortwave radio station near the German border at the beginning of World War II, NBC’s first…
Public Diplomacy in Cyprus: Reaching Across the Green Line
Marked by broken glass, sand bags, and abandoned buildings, the Green Line dividing Nicosia is a place out of time.…
“I am a Plant:” An Apparent Iraqi Spy Among U.S. Diplomats
Would you be willing to hire a potential foreign intelligence agent if it meant direct access to an antagonistic, elusive…
Spy vs. Spy: The Yin-he Incident and U.S.-China Intelligence Rivalry
Was the intelligence correct? Was the U.S. being set up? These were questions facing John Tkacik when the United States…
Rich in Oil and Rich in Corruption — Nigeria in the Early 1970s
Oil boomed. Revenue skyrocketed. So did political corruption, economic dependency, and environmental degradation. The dramatic spike in oil production in…
A Problem in Palau: Negotiating Free Association Status with the Micronesian Islands
In a Hawaiian hotel room sat a U.S. ambassador and officials from Palau, peering over details of a treaty to…
Spies and Prostitutes: Memories of a Visa Officer in Post-WWII Greece
In post-World War II Greece, U.S. consular officers met all kinds of people—from suspected spies to prostitutes. Don Gelber was…
Freezing in the Dark: the First Years of the USAID Mission in Ukraine
Using candles for light, huddling into the warmest room, tapping into government telephone lines to make calls—these were the conditions…